| CD REVIEW Royal Thunder |
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Band: Royal Thunder The Atlanta-region houses some nice Doom / Sludge-oriented combos, such as Zoroaster, Baroness, Black Tusk or Kylesa. From the same area come Royal Thunder, a trio that started in 2007. The band consists of two male instrumentalists, Josh Weaver on guitar and Jesse Stuber on drums, and both vocals and bass parts are done by female member Mlny Pansonz. In 2009, the trio recorded a self-produced and self-released EP, which drew attention of both (international) press and some labels. Relapse could offer the best conditions for promotion and distribution and this label now re-releases the seven-tracker, which lasts for over half an hour, on CD. Musically this isn’t ‘the regular, trusted Relapse-stuff’ we were used to years ago. This label evolved from a Grind-organisation into an open-minded and not-afraid-to-experiment-label, and especially Sludge-bands are mostly welcome nowadays. But the label goes further – think about the re-release of Control Denied’s (legendary) full length (re-issued in autumn last year), and the signing of Royal Thunder seems to be both surprising and not-that-surprising-at-all. Anyway, this re-release must be one of the calmest, most sober releases on this label ever. Royal Thunder opens this EP with intro "Intro", a short but haunting ambient piece that perfectly introduces "Sleeping Witch", the first ‘real’ track. This song brings a plain yet grooving mixture of Southern Rock and Seventies Doom Rock and indeed, it’s this kind of music we can expect on the recording. The whole sounds integer, sometimes almost ballad-alike, but don’t expect catchy stuff with lots of poppy emotions about love and loss. No, this quiet approach is rather darkening. And from time to time really interesting mega-fat riffs or rhythm structures brutalise the totality.Parsonz’ vocals are melodic and gloomy yet a little soar, close to a Blues / Country-sound (think: whisky and cigarettes), and her voice fits perfectly to the uncomplicated instrumentation. And it does not matter if she performs on a slower piece, a groovy song, or an up-tempo rocker (like Mouth Of Fire) – she’s inspiring, I guess.
This EP does not renew, neither is it brain-shaking. This is because the album sounds too dated, too simple and too ‘soft’ – yet again, it will please a huge audience as well, for bringing refreshment and melancholy. Positive addition: the sound quality, which is unpolished and rather crusty. For fans of everything between Thin Lizzy, Jex Thoth, Earth, Led Zeppelin and earlier Hooverphonic (the bluesy things). 80/100 Ivan Tibos. |
